NASA TV News Conference, Media Availability With Next Space Station Crew

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Jun 28, 2016, 02:41 ET

WASHINGTON, June 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough and two Russian crewmates will answer questions about their upcoming mission on the International Space Station at a news conference, and be available for one-on-one interviews, Thursday, July 7, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The 2 p.m. EDT news conference will air live on NASA Television and stream on the agency's website.

Kimbrough and cosmonauts Andrey Borisenko and Sergey Ryzhikov of the Russian space agency Roscosmos will launch to the space station Sept. 23 aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trio will round out Expedition 49, and return to Earth in February as part of the Expedition 50 crew.

B-roll video of crew training will air before the news conference, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Media who wish to participate by telephone should call Johnson's newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 1:45 p.m. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using the hashtag #askNASA. Interview opportunities also are available in person or by phone.

To request credentials to attend in person, or to reserve an interview opportunity, reporters must contact Johnson's newsroom by 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 5.

During their planned five and a half month mission, the station crew members will perform approximately 250 research investigations and technology demonstrations not possible on Earth in order to advance scientific knowledge of Earth, space, physical and biological sciences. Science conducted on the space station continues to yield benefits for humanity and will enable future long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space, including the agency's Journey to Mars.

Kimbrough, a retired Army Colonel, completed his first spaceflight in 2008 on space shuttle mission STS-126, when he spent almost 16 days helping expand the station's living quarters to accommodate a six-member crew. During those 16 days, he completed two spacewalks, logging 12 hours and 52 minutes outside the station.

A native of Killeen, Texas, Kimbrough is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He started working at Johnson as a flight simulation engineer on shuttle training aircraft before his selection to the astronaut corps in 2004.

Expedition 49 crew members will share their flight experiences on Instagram. Those interested can follow along at:

http://instagram.com/iss

Follow Kimbrough on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/astro_kimbrough

Watch NASA TV streaming video, and get schedule and downlink information, at:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Check out the latest on the International Space Station and its crews, at:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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SOURCE NASA